These days you'll find cheap bordeaux isn't such a no-no.

With so much good red wine under a tenner from Chile, Australia, South Africa, Spain, the Rhône, Languedoc and more jostling for our attention, is there any point in buying cheap bordeaux? A decade ago the answer would have been a resounding no. I remember lining up about 40 sub-£10 clarets back then to unearth precious gems but nothing glinted back at me, except for a lot of dull, under-ripe, thin reds.

I repeat the tasting now and again, and lately things have got decidedly better. The Bordelais, realising that drinkers today want riper styles, are putting out juicier, richer reds at the cheaper end, mainly by picking riper merlot grapes (merlot, not cabernet sauvignon, holds sway in the affordable, early-drinking claret blend). It's not all good – bitter notes pervade here and there, and some supermarket cheaper clarets are still disappointingly characterless – but the independent merchants have more inspiring choices, turning out some quite delicious red bordeaux at this price point.

Of course, picking riper grapes has resulted in alcohol levels creeping up (13 to 13.5 per cent alcohol clarets where typically they used to be 12 per cent). But most inexpensive clarets still taste medium-bodied, not full and chewy-tannic, and the best make an elegant, easy-going and sophisticated match for red meat (especially spring lamb), hard cheeses, steak pies and roast chicken. The 2010 and 2009 vintages were terrific; try to buy wines made in these years.

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The GOC has long been a reliable house claret, made by the big company Dourthe for Berry Bros, and the 2010 release is especially good, with rich blackcurrant, liquorice and plain chocolate notes. 13.5 per cent.

Juicier than most, with sweetish redcurrant fruit and some of the cedarwood and fresh tobacco complexity found in far pricier clarets. This would be lovely with new-season lamb. 13 per cent.

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